The Prime 4 Causes of Truck Fires

An estimated 7,000 truck fires occur on the nation’s roadways yearly. And whereas that quantity could seem small, most tractor-trailer fires can create thousands and thousands of {dollars} value of kit and cargo losses. In addition they may cause severe damage or dying to drivers and different motorists.

The Expertise & Upkeep Council of the American Truckers Affiliation (ATA) hosted a session about truck fires throughout its Fall 2018 assembly, and that is what they discovered.

The 4 commonest causes of truck fires:

1. Brakes
2. Wheel bearings
3. Air leaks
4. Tires

The excellent news: inflexible preventive upkeep can cut back the danger of fireside. Conduct pre- and post-trip inspections. Make sure to:

• Examine that each one elements of your truck’s braking system work correctly
• Be sure your brakes are correctly adjusted
• Preserve wheel bearings correctly lubricated to scale back the danger of a frozen or locked bearing
• Examine for blown wheel seals
• Pay attention for any air leaks
• Keep correct air stress in all tires (when tires aren’t correctly inflated, it will increase friction, which raises the danger for fireplace)
• Be sure twin tires do not contact

If you happen to discover any defects, report them to your supervisor instantly and ensure they get mounted. These further steps can assist you stop different sorts of truck fires:

• Examine fluid hoses and wiring insulation for cracks or put on
• Be sure hoses or electrical cables aren’t touching
• Preserve cargo correctly sealed and loaded; guarantee correct air flow within the trailer
• Take particular precautions when hauling hazardous supplies
• Examine the tires, wheels and physique of your truck for indicators of warmth everytime you cease
• Watch your gauges for indicators of overheating
• Watch your mirrors for indicators of smoke
• Watch out with aftermarket tools (transportable heaters, radios, and so on.) that might result in electrical fires
• Comply with correct fueling procedures
• Do not smoke

Additionally, be sure that your truck’s fireplace extinguisher is totally charged, correctly secured and working correctly. When utilizing the extinguisher, bear in mind PASS – Pull the pin, Goal on the base of the fireplace, Squeeze the set off and Sweep backward and forward.

Following the following tips can save your life.